Lakers Rumors: Rob Pelinka Has 'Little Support' for NBA Executive of the Year

Despite building the Los Angeles Lakers into the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly has "little support" to win the NBA Executive of the Year award, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. 

The Lakers overhauled their roster the past two years while pairing LeBron James and Anthony Davis, also filling out the rotation with reliable veterans to turn the team into a contender. However, it's unlikely he gets recognized for his work.

"Some of his peers, many of whom had a history of dealing with Pelinka as an agent, seem to not want to give him much credit," Windhorst wrote.

A few front offices instead credit Rich Paul for engineering James and Davis to Los Angeles.

The Lakers have also been caught tampering in the past, which seems to have soured some teams in the voting process.

Despite the lack of praise from his peers, Pelinka helped bring the Lakers back to relevance after missing the playoffs in six straight seasons, the worst stretch in the organization's history.

Los Angeles signed James in 2018 and then made a massive trade for Davis, giving up young stars like Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball as well as multiple first-round picks. After failing to land Kawhi Leonard in free agency, the team still improved by signing Danny Green, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley among others.

Even the late addition of Dion Waiters has proved valuable during the NBA restart in Orlando.

It was enough to put the Lakers in position to win a title, which is all you can hope for from an executive.

Windhorst noted several votes have gone to Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who helped bring in Leonard and Paul George this offseason.